Ravens To Promote Greg Roman To OC
The Ravens will promote assistant head coach/tight ends coach Greg Roman to the role of offensive coordinator, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic tweets. Coach John Harbaugh confirmed the change to Zrebiec, which will be the first of many on the offensive staff. 
Roman’s promotion takes Marty Mornhinweg out of his role as OC, but Mornhinweg has been asked to stay on board in a different capacity, Zrebiec tweets. More shuffling could take place in the coming days as running backs coach Thomas Hammock is said to be a top candidate for the head coaching job at Northern Illinois.
In 2018, the Ravens’ offensive staff had to reinvent everything on the fly as Lamar Jackson took over for Joe Flacco. Roman played a sizable role in getting the team to adjust and the Ravens believe he is the man to guide them into Jackson’s first full season as a starter.
Roman, who turns 47 this summer, served as the 49ers’ OC from 2011-2014 and the Bill’ OC from 2015-2016. He hooked on with the Ravens in 2017 and nabbed an AHC title before the 2018 season.
The staff’s reorganization and Harbaugh’s role in the shuffling may be a sign that he is staying put. There have been tons of trade rumors surrounding the coach, but the two sides have been discussing an extension over the last week.
Browns To Interview Jim Bob Cooter
Former Lions offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter is slated to interview for the Browns’ offensive coordinator job, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Cooter’s contract was not renewed by Detroit at the end of the season, making him a free agent. 
Cooter’s work with Matthew Stafford during the 2017 season should be a strong selling point for him, but he’ll have to answer for the Lions’ disappointing 2018 season. But, in theory, Cooter could be the creative and energetic offensive coordinator that Baker Mayfield needs to thrive.
Of course, Cooter can’t expect total freedom if he signs on in Cleveland. By all accounts, new head coach Freddie Kitchens is intent on continuing to call the plays.
The Lions promoted Cooter to offensive coordinator midway through the 2015 season, and the young coach helped elevate Stafford’s game. This topped out when Detroit finished as the NFL’s No. 7 scoring offense in 2017, doing so without much of a running game. But this season, Stafford’s numbers regressed, down by more than 600 passing yards and going from 7.9 yards per attempt in 207 to 6.8 this season, as did the Lions’ offense in a 6-10 season.
Cardinals Won’t Trade Rosen, Draft Murray
The Oakland A’s expect Kyler Murray to give up on baseball in order to pursue his NFL dreams. The buzz in the football world is palpable, and speculation has built around a possible union between the Cardinals and the Oklahoma quarterback, with the Cards trading 2018 first-rounder Josh Rosen. Such a scenario is “ludicrous” and “not happening,” a Cardinals source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
New Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury has referred to Murray as a “freak” in the past and lauded his immense potential. Still, giving up on Rosen so soon in favor of a talented, but undersized, QB prospect, would be incredibly gutsy. You can never say never on anything – particularly when the Cardinals already went way outside of the box to hire Kingsbury – but the odds of this happening do feel unlikely.
The Cardinals have a number of needs to address on both sides of the ball and trading Rosen for pennies on the dollar to replace him with another rookie QB would not make a whole lot of sense. Instead, the Cardinals would probably be best served by going with another position with the No. 1 overall pick, or trading down in order to take care of multiple areas of need.
Rosen, 22 in February, finished out with a 3-10 record in 2018.
Latest On Steelers, Antonio Brown
Antonio Brown is unhappy with Steelers brass and coach Mike Tomlin, but the assumption so far has been that the Steelers would not trade the wide receiver. Apparently, things have changed. In an interview with Gerry Dulac of the Post-Gazette, Steelers president Art Rooney II said it would be “hard to envision” Brown being with the Steelers in training camp this summer. 
“There’s not much we can do right now; we have time to make a decision,” Rooney said. “We’ll look at all the options. We’re not going to release him, that’s not on the table. But I will say all other options are on the table.”
With that, it appears that one of the game’s most dangerous offensive weapons could be on the market. It’s likely that every team will have interest in adding Brown, but the cost figures to be sky high. Not only is Brown a superstar player, but trading him would also leave the Steelers saddled with an astronomical cap hit. Even though dissatisfied players are often traded for pennies on the dollar, a Brown trade could call for the forfeiture of two first-round picks, and possibly more.
Even though Rooney is leaving the door open to a possible trade, he’s not slamming the door on a potential reconciliation either.
“I’m not going to use those words. All options are on the table. We have two months to go before we can do anything. There’s no sense making the decision now,” Rooney said. “We’ll see how things play out. Maybe he decides to come talk to us some day and we learn more about where he is. We’ll see.”
Coaching Rumors: Jets, Gase, Cardinals, Lions
The Jets likely preferred Baylor’s Matt Rhule to Adam Gase, but as previously reported, things fell apart when Rhule refused to allow the Jets to pick his staff for him. The Jets especially wanted to choose his offensive coordinator and Rich Cimini of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears the Jets floated Todd Monken to him as an option.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- The Cardinals asked, but were denied, permission to interview 49ers run game coordinator Mike McDaniel for their offensive coordinator position, Matt Barrows of The Athletic tweets. McDaniel is tight with head coach Kyle Shanahan and the team was not prepared to lose him, especially to a divisional rival.
- “It appears” that Steve Sarkisian and Nathaniel Hackett are in the mix for the Lions‘ offensive coordinator vacancy, Alex Marvez of SiriusXM tweets. The Lions have been looking for a new OC ever since Jan. 1 when they announced that Jim Bob Cooter‘s contract would not be renewed.
- Sarkisian has also spoken with the Cardinals about their OC job, Marvez tweets. Sarkisian has been on the market since Dec. 31 when he was fired by Atlanta.
- Both the Cardinals and Browns have sought permission to interview Jets running backs coach Stump Mitchell, a source tells Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The position(s) he’ll be discussing with those teams are unclear, however.
Broncos Hire Vic Fangio As HC
The Broncos have a new head coach. On Wednesday, Denver reached agreement with Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, sources tell Adam Schefter and Dan Graziano of ESPN (on Twitter). As is the usual standard, the deal will be a four-year contract with a team option for a fifth year. 
[RELATED: PFR’s 2019 Head Coaching Search Tracker]
On Thursday, the Broncos made it official.
“Vic really impressed us with his attention to detail — His focus is on teaching the fundamentals, technique and playing disciplined football,” GM John Elway said. “Going through this process and talking to many qualified candidates, it became clear that Vic was the best choice to lead our team. There are few things that Vic has not seen in 40 years of coaching. He’s been great on the defensive side of the ball for a number of years with a simple, detailed approach that gets results. With his intelligence and experience, Vic is as good of a football coach as you can find. He’s the perfect fit and exactly what we need as head coach of the Denver Broncos.”
The Broncos are hoping that Fangio will help restore the defense to its former glory. Meanwhile, they’ll have to pay special attention to how they fill out the rest of their staff.
Fangio is experienced, but the 60-year-old has never served as a head coach at any level. And, despite all of his defensive acumen, they’ll need a sharp and seasoned offensive team to handle the other side of the ball. Shortly after agreeing to terms with Fangio, the Broncos took a big step in that direction by appointing Gary Kubiak as the team’s offensive coordinator.
Fangio was largely overlooked in last year’s cycle, but the Bears’ success in 2018 vaulted him to the top of Denver’s list. Despite their early playoff exit against the Eagles, the Bears’ D thrived – they ranked No. 1 in scoring defense and allowed just 17.7 points per game.
Fangio has spent the last four year as the Bears’ DC. Before that, he had four years as the 49ers’ DC and also had DC stints with the Panthers, Colts, and Texans.
The hiring leaves the Bears with a DC vacancy of their own. This also means that runner-up Mike Munchak will have to evaluate other options. Munchak interviewed for the Broncos, Packers, and Browns’ head coaching jobs, but they have all been filled. The Dolphins reached out to Munchak, but he turned down their interview request earlier this month.
The hiring of Fangio coupled with the Browns’ hiring of Freddie Kitchens on Wednesday leaves the Dolphins, Bengals and Jets as the only teams with head coaching vacancies.
Cardinals To Interview Ben McAdoo
Former Giants coach Ben McAdoo will interview for a spot on Kliff Kingsbury’s Cardinals staff, a source tells Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). McAdoo could be considered as an offensive coordinator candidate, but he could also be brought on in a “senior position on the offensive staff,” Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter). 
Regardless of who is brought on to fill out Kingsbury’s staff, Rapoport expects him to be surrounded by a lot of experience. That jibes with everything else we’ve heard so far, though Kingsbury has some level of interest in bringing Texas State coach Jake Spavital on board as an offensive coordinator. With no NFL experience, the 30-something Spavital would not fit the bill as a grizzled veteran of the pro ranks.
McAdoo’s run as a head coach in New York proved to be disastrous. By the end, many of his players rebelled and quit on him. However, before that, he was a highly-valued offensive mind who enabled the Giants to finish out with the No. 10 and No. 8 ranked offenses in 2014 and 2015. McAdoo is a long way from being a head coaching candidate, but he fits the profile as a solid OC consideration.
Raiders Have Yet To Talk With San Diego
At this moment, no one knows where the Raiders will be playing in 2019. San Diego has been widely suggested as a temporary landing spot until everything is set in Las Vegas, but as of Tuesday, the Raiders have yet to engage in talks with city authorities.
“Our office has not been in communication with the Raiders,” Craig Gustafson, spokesman for the San Diego mayor told Michael Gehlken of the Review-Journal (on Twitter).
Last month, we heard that there is still a possibility of the Raiders playing in Oakland this year. Of course, with lawsuits and ugliness involved, nothing can be said for certain.
Mark Davis previously expressed little interest in sharing Levi’s Stadium with the 49ers, but the league could push that pairing if it winds up being the most logical solution. Given Santa Clara, California’s relative proximity to the Raiders’ fan base and the quality of the stadium, it’s not hard to imagine Roger Goodell advocating for that scenario.
Packers Notes: LaFleur, Rodgers, Murphy
Here’s the latest on the Packers and new head coach Matt LaFleur:
- LaFleur will report directly to team president/CEO Mark Murphy, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). Such arrangements can lead to problems sometimes in the NFL, but GM Brian Gutekunst is presumably on board with the plan.
- LaFleur told reporters that he that he had the opportunity to speak with Aaron Rodgers prior to accepting the job. “I cannot wait to get to work with him. I think he’s equally excited,” LaFleur said of Rodgers (Twitter link via Olivia Reiner of the team website).
- The Packers interviewed a number of candidates for the job, but Murphy was unimpressed by everyone outside of LaFleur “Quite honestly, no one stood out,” Murphy said (Twitter link via Pelissero). After talking with other coaches, they interviewed LaFleur in Nashville on Sunday afternoon and found him to be “the most prepared candidate.”
Latest On Browns, Freddie Kitchens
The Browns’ chain of command has been muddled in the past, but the team’s new structure appears to be pretty straight forward. New head coach Freddie Kitchens will report directly to GM John Dorsey and not to owner Jimmy Haslam, according to Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). 
Meanwhile, Kitchens will “retool [the] staff,” Robinson says, so he’ll likely have the freedom to choose the coaches that he wants. That includes the offensive side of the staff, which is Kitchens’ specialty.
Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski had support to be the head coaching hire, Robinson hears, but the consensus was ultimately Kitchens. Multiple executives were in the room hashing things out, but the hire ultimately was made by Haslam and Dorsey.
The Browns did not ask Baker Mayfield for his suggestion, but they did listen to his thoughts on Kitchens, Robinson writes. Naturally, Mayfield was a big proponent of Kitchens, who helped get the offense back on track in the second half of the season.